One of Chester’s leading tourist attractions has been recognised for its excellent service by the national tourist board, Visit England.

The Chester City Sightseeing Bus, which is run by bus operator Stagecoach Merseyside and South Lancashire, has been recognised for its high standards of quality and the role it plays in helping to boost tourism in the area with an official Visit England Quality Assured Tour accreditation.

Established in 2002, the hop-on-hop-off tour bus takes passengers to Chester’s tourism hotspots including the Roman Amphitheatre, River Dee and Anglican Cathedral.

Elisabeth Tasker, managing director of Stagecoach Merseyside and South Lancashire, said: “We’re delighted to see the continued success of our sightseeing buses. To have our services recognised by the tourism board is fantastic and is testament to our team’s hard work and their real focus on giving our passengers the best possible experience during their tour.

“Chester is an historic city with an abundance of things to do and places to see. The nature of the hop-on-hop-off buses and expert tour guides, allows customers to see the very best that Chester has to offer at their leisure. Our strong performance figures show that visitors are continuing to rise, with tourists enjoying the full tourism package that we help to provide.”

Stagecoach has witnessed strong growth since taking over the attraction in 2013. There has been a 4% increase in the number of users during the peak summer season and an 18% increase over the off peak months.

Over the past year, Stagecoach has made significant investment into the buses used in the sightseeing tours. This includes replacing the former fleet of 26 year old buses with newer, fully refurbished double decker buses and making it fully accessible to all audiences with improved disability access.